Visa Launches Tap to Ride on Guangzhou Metro to Enhance Travel Experience for Inbound Tourists

10/16/2025

 

Visa, a global leader in digital payments, announced that Tap to Ride is now officially available on the Guangzhou Metro, enriching the travel experience for inbound visitors in China with a more convenient payment method.

Guangzhou is one of the key cities for the launch of Visa Tap to Ride, becoming the second city in the Greater Bay Area after Hong Kong to adopt this payment method. This expansion strengthens cross-border travel convenience across the Greater Bay Area.

 

Guangzhou Metro deploys Tap to Ride for direct gate entry with Visa cards

Starting today, Visa Tap to Ride is available on the Guangzhou Metro. Inbound travellers with a Visa chip card can now tap directly at entry/exit gates marked with Visa contactless payment symbol to enter metro stations, enjoying a seamless and convenient travel experience.

Visa Tap to Ride is available in over 870 cities worldwide. In mainland China, the payment method is now active in Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu, covering more than 50 metro lines and 1,000 stations.

  • Beijing: The first city in mainland China to enable Visa Tap to Ride in the railway system, available on 29 operating lines and 523 stations, including the Airport Express, Xijiao line, and Yizhuang T1 Line.
  • Shanghai: Launched as a pilot in June 2025, covering 21 lines and 517 stations, providing international travellers with a familiar and efficient payment experience.
  • Chengdu: The first city in mainland China to implement Visa Tap to Ride on buses, covering more than 400 metro stations and 7,000 buses, offering inbound travellers a seamless transit experience.

 

Visa creates cross-border smart travel experiences in the Greater Bay Area

In the Greater Bay Area, Visa covers public transportation in Hong Kong, including MTR, buses, trams, Star Ferry, parking meters, and taxis. Tap to Ride is available on over 6,000 buses and dedicated MTR entry/exit gates that accept Visa cards. Visa is actively expanding Tap to Ride to cross-border buses and taxis, enabling seamless travel between Hong Kong and mainland China cities.

With the successful launch of Tap to Ride on the Guangzhou Metro, Visa further enhances the regional transit payment network, allowing Hong Kong travellers to continue using their Visa cards upon arrival in Guangzhou.

 

Driving inbound tourism and spending with convenient payments

China’s inbound tourism market is growing steadily. In 2024, China welcomed 132 million inbound visitors, a 61% increase year-on-year, including 26.94 million foreign visitors, up 96% from the previous year.

According to Visa’s latest data, foreign visitor spending in China surged in the first half of 2025, with Tap to Pay experiencing a remarkable increase. In Guangzhou, inbound visitor spending increased by more than 100% compared with last year.1

Tap to Ride has also been widely adopted in public transit. Visa data shows that around 60% of inbound travellers in Beijing use their Visa cards for Tap to Ride on public transport.2

Visa Tap to Ride enhances payment convenience for visitors while also driving new momentum in urban cultural and tourism development. By simplifying payments, travellers can freely explore local culture and lifestyles, driving spending and cultural exchange. Going forward, Visa will continue collaborating with more city transit networks to promote convenient transit payment methods, supporting robust tourism development.

 

__________________________________________

1 https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1842860326461630704&wfr=spider&for=pc

2 https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1842860326461630704&wfr=spider&for=pc

 

About Visa

Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at Visa.com.